Specialists from the St. Petersburg State University of Aerospace Instrumentation (SUAI), together with colleagues from the Institute of Inorganic Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences, have developed a unique method for controlling high-power laser beams.
To create such beams, special crystals were used, which made it possible to achieve resistance to diffraction - a phenomenon in which light is scattered over long distances, which leads to a deterioration in signal quality.
Acousto-optics studies the interaction of light and sound, and in this case, this interaction is used to move and scan the beam in space, ensuring its precise guidance to the receiver.
Unlike traditional systems that use Gaussian beams, the new development provides more accurate guidance, which is especially important in space conditions. This reduces energy consumption and increases the range of data transmission.
Scientists are confident that their technology could become the basis for creating new space communication systems that use non-diffracting laser beams.